Label dispenser



July 1952 c. G. THIENE ETVAL LABEL DISPENSER 2 SHEETS.SHEET 1 Filed Dec.21, 1948 I V NTOR. (MEL 6. TH/E/QE fil Y STANTON AVERY WWW ATTURA/EYSJuly 8, 1952 c. e. THIENE ET AL LABEL DISPENSER 2 Sl-IEETS-SPEET 2 FiledDec. 21, 1948 V! R m m m w v E VF. A N N R [EN 0 mm r N l A A 6 T 5 myvMR W Patented July 8, 1952 LABEL DISPENSER Carl G. Thiene, Pasadena, andBay :Stanton Avery, South Pasadena, Calif., assignors to AdhesiveDevelopment 00., a co-partnership' consisting of Ray Stanton Avery andDorothy Durfee Avery, Monrovia, Calif.

Application December 21, 1948, Serial No. 66,426

4 Claims. 01.312431) 1. This invention relates to a label dispenser.More particularly, it relates to a dispenser for dispensing labels whichare adhesively mounted on a tape. I

In .label dispensers of the character referred to, a roll of tape isprovided comprising the tape proper and spaced labels mounted upon andsecured to the tape by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. It isdesirable to peel the individual labels from the tape automatically andrapidly. In accomplishing this, it is not only necessary to feed thetape i110 a'peeling mechanism, but it is also important to provide heatto facilitate the peeling action. p

It is .an object of the iinvention to provide an improved labeldispenser of the character referred to. 1

vIt is a further object of the invention to provide a label dispenservofthe character referred to which is capable of applying heat to the tapeto facilitate peeling-of the labels therefrom, and which is also capableof rapidly peeling the labels from the tape.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a simple,easily constructed mechanism for peeling labels from; tape anddispensing the same rapidly or. slowly as. desired, and which is simplein its operation and easy to adjust and maintain.

These and other objects of. the invention will be apparent from theensuing description and the appended claims.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the followingdescription and illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, partly, broken away to show certain of theinterior parts, of the label dispenser-of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section taken along the line 22 f 1'.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, on a smaller scale, of the dispenser. i

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the latch member. I v

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the compressor plate. I

Referring now to the drawings; a tape dispenser generally designated asI0 is housed in a housing H comprising a cover plate l2 and a basecasting l3. Disposed within the housing is a motor l4 and speed reducerMa and as illustra ed, a heosta i=5 s also provided. Also shown areleads [6 leading to afoot switch (not shown) and power leads I], whichmay be con nected to any suitable source of electrical ener y (notshown). An electric heating element l8 is also provided, being disposedin a recess 19 formed in thecover plate l2. Theelectricalcircuits of themotor I4; andof the heating element 18 are not shown as they areconventional and form no-part of this invention. The speed of the motoris is controlled by the rheostat I5. The heating element l 8riscontrolled by any suitable means (not shown). As illustrated, a masteror toggle switch 20 is also provided and a pilot/light 2! is provided toindicate when the power is on'and the; jpparatusism-readiness foroperation. 'f

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 a hard rubberfeed-roller 30 having a grooved periphery 30a isgprov-idedz The feedroller 30 is fixed to a shaft M which is journalled in bearing brackets32 depending from the cover plate l'2. The feed roller 30 is driven bymeans of a sprocket 33 fixed to theshaft 3!,"a chain-34 and a sprocket35 which is driven by the speed reducer Ma. Agenerally.ueshaped'guide'member 36 is also provided, which extends fromthe feed roller 30 upwardly and then downwardly for a purposeexplainedhereinafter. A heating and stripping plate. '40, whichadvantageously formed of brass, copper or other highly heatconductivematerial, is provided. The stripper plate 40 is secured to a countersunkportion of the cover plate I2 so that its upper surface will beflushwith the cover plate, asillustrated, and, as will be seen, the stripperplate 40 is disposed directly 'abovethe heating element IS. The forwardedge of the'plate 49 is beveled at M as shown so as to form a ratherblunt knife edge for peeling "labels from the tape.

A front panel 42 is also provided, being hinged- 1y supported upon'thebase casting l3 by'means of a shaft 43f journalled in the base casting.The front panel 42 is of inverted L shape, as illustrated, and itcomprises a front portion 44 and a top portion :45. Secured to theunderside of the-top portion 45 by meansofgse'rews 4'6 is a compressorplate 41, which is slotted forwardly and rearwardly of' its mid portionto provide fingers and 5|. The fingers 50 extend to beveled edge M. Aswill be seen, the compressor plate 56 is bent downwardly soth'at itfunctions as a resilient or spring-like pressure member as and for apurpose explained hereinafter. The top portion 45 of the front panel-42terminates in a vertical rib 52,, which is similar to a rib 10 A latchmember 55 is pivotally supported upon a shaft 56 extending between andjournalled in opposite sides of the front panel 42. The latch journalledin the upper part of the front panel H Meanwhile, as the tape is beingunwound, it will be heated by the heating element 6 as it passes overthe stripper plate 40, thus facilitating peelmember 55 comprises ahandle portion 51, a front portion 58 and a guide and bracket portion6.. A guide roller 6| is supported upon a shaft 62, the ends of whichare received in ovate slots 63 formed in opposite sides of the latchmember, and springs 64 are provided to urge the roller 6| to its forwardposition as viewed in Fig. 2. That is to say, when the latch member 55is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the springs 64 urge the roller 6|toward the guide member 36 and the feed roller 30. Aguide member orguard 65 is also provided, extending, as illustrated, from the bottom ofthe bracket or guide portion 60 rearwardly and upwardly to a positionjust behind and adjacent the guide roller 6|. As seen in Fig. 2, it willbe noted that the axis of the roller 6| is above the axis 56 of thelatch with respect to the axis of feed roller 36. Thus the spring willtend to keep the roller 6| in this upper position. -However, when thelatch handle 51 is raised, the roller 6| will be urged rearwardlyagainst the tension of spring 64 and past the diametrically'oppositepoint on the roller 36 from the pivot point 56 to a permit theroller 6| to be spaced from the guide 36 and the feed roller 30 when thetape is to be inserted Clamping members H are provided,- each suchmember comprising a bail-shaped handle, portion 12 and a dove-tailedfoot member 13 received within and slidable in' a dove-tailed groove 14formed in the cover plate |2. Set screws 15 are provided for clampingthe clamping members H in any desired position.

As illustrated, a roll of tape 8|) having labels 8| adhesively securedthereto by a suitable pressure sensitive adhesive, is placed between theclamping member 1|, which are adjusted so as to center the tape roll 80and to support it loosely to allow unwinding. T

In employing the device thus. described, the power leads H are pluggedin and the toggle switch I9 is turned to on position which results inlighting the pilot light to indicate that the machine is in operatingcondition. A roll of tape 80 is mounted as described above, and the endof the roll is pulled outwardly, the front panel 42 being meanwhile inopen position. A sufficient length of tape is unwound by hand and iscreased under the beveled edge ll of the stripper plate 40. In socreasing'the tape, it is important that the crease be made inapproximately the middle of a label.

The free end-of thetape is then pressed in"- wardly so that it liesloosely against the hard rubber roller ills-The front panel 42 is thenclosedand the latch handle- 51 is depressed to bring the latch memberinto its uppermost or latching position-with its roller 6| abutting theguide member 36, as shown in Fig. 2. The rheostat I5 is then manipulatedto operate the motor l4, hence the feed roller 30, at the desired speed.The feed roller will now feed the tape upwardly between the guard member36 and the guide roller 6|, thence downwardly, where it is ing thelabels, and the compressor plate 41 will press the tape firmly againstthe stripper plate. As the-tape rounds the beveled edge 4| of stripperplate 40, each label will be peeled off and may be caught by handorallowed to drop into a receptacle or conveyor belt (not shown).

It is thus apparent that a label dispensing machine. has been providedwhich is simple and rugged in its construction, which is eflicient inits operation, and which is readily controlled and easily adjusted.

While we have'shown'the preferred form of our invention, it is to beunderstood that various changes may be made in its construction by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims. r 4

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to's'ecureby Letters Patent is:

l. A label dispenser, comprising a housing, means on the top of thehousing for rotatably supporting a roll of laminated tape, a feed rollerwithin said housing for feeding the lower lamina of the tape intosaid'housing'means for rotating said feed roller, a stripper platebetween said supporting means and said feedro'ller and disposedforwardly of both, whereby the lower 1amina is forced to turn an acuteangle in passing from the supportingmeans to the feed roller to createa, condition for separating the laminae of the tape from one another, arigid inverted generally L-shaped rearwa'rdly facing cover platepivotally mounted at the lower end thereof on the housing for pivotalmovement ab'ou't'an axis below thefee'd roller and pivotal to anoperating position where the upper leg thereofoverlies the stripperplate and the tape thereon, said cover plate having spring means on theunder side of said upper leg engageable with the tape to hold it firmlyagainst the stripper plate, said cover plate also having an openingtherein for the passage therethrough of the upper lamina, of the tape, astationary guide plate disposed adjacent to and rearwardly of the feedroller and providing a rearwardly facing concave portion against whichthe lower lamina is ad'apted'to be held and along which the lower laminais adapted to move upon rotation of the feed roller, "and a latchpivotally mounted on the c'overplate, carrying a resiliently mountedguide roller on the inner end thereof yieldably receivable'in theconcave portion-of the stationary guide plate when the latch is pivotedto its operative position to simultaneously force the lowerlamina'a'gainst said concave portion and to latch said cover plate inoperative position. 1

2. A label dispenser, comprising a housing, a stripper plate on thehousing having a stripping edge, means on the housing for rotatablysupporting-a roll of laminated tape for supplying the tape to the topsurface or the stripper plate from a point rearwardly of thestrippingedge of said plate, a feedroller within said housing disposed below andrearwardly of the stripping edge of said stripping plate for feedingthelower lamina of the tap into the housing and causing the lower laminato turn an acute angle around said stripping edge to create a conditionfor separating the laminae of the tape from one another, means forrotating said feed roller, a rigid inverted generally L-shapedrearwardly facing cover plate pivotally mounted at the lower end thereofon the housing for pivotal movement about an axis below the feed rollerand pivotal to an operating position where the upper leg thereofoverlies the stripper plate and the tape thereon, said cover platehaving spring means on the under side of the upper leg thereofengageable with the tape to hold it firmly against the stripper plate,said cover plate also having an opening therein for the passagetherethrough of the upper lamina of the tape, a stationary guide platedisposed adjacent to and rearwardly of the feed roller and providing arear wardly facing concave portion against which the lower lamina isadapted to be held and along which the lower lamina is adapted to moveupon rotation of the feed roller, and a latch pivotally mounted on thecover plate, carrying a resiliently mounted guide roller on the innerend thereof yieldably receivable in the concave portion of thestationary guide plate when the latch is pivoted to its operatingposition to simultaneously force the lower lamina against said concaveportion and to latch said cover plate in operative position.

3. A label dispenser, comprising a housing, a

stripper plate on the housing having a stripping edge, means on thehousing for rotatably supportplate, a feed roller within said housingdisposed below and rearwardly of the stripping edge of said strippingplate for feeding the lower lamina of the tape into the housingand'causing the lower lamina to turn an acute angle around saidstripping edge to create a condition for separating the laminae of thetape from one another, means for rotating said feed roller, a stationaryguide plate disposed adjacent to and rearwardly of the feed roller andproviding a rearwardly facing concave portion against which the lowerlamina is adapted to be held and along which the lower lamina is adaptedto move upon rotation of th feed roller, and a latch pivotally mountedon the housing forwardly of the feed roller, carrying a resilientlymounted guide roller on the inner end thereof yieldably receivable inthe concave portion of the stationary guide when the latch is pivoted toits operative position to simultaneously force the lower lamina againstsaid concave portion and to latch itself in operative position.

4. A label dispenser, comprising a housing, a

plate, a feed roller within said housing disposed. below and rearwardlyof the stripping edge of said stripping plate for feeding the lowerlamina of the tape into the housin and causing the lower lamina to turnan acute angle around said stripping edge to create a condition forseparating the laminae of the tape from one another, means for rotatingsaid feed roller, a rigid inverted generally L-shaped rearwardly facingcover plate pivotally mounted at the lower end thereof on the housingfor pivotal movement about an axis below the feed roller and pivotal toan operative position where the upper leg thereof overlies the stripperplate and the tape thereon, said cover plate having spring means on theunder side of the upper leg thereof engageable with the tape to hold itfirmly against the stripper plate, said cover plate also having anopening therein for the passage therethrough of the upper lamina of thetape, electric heating means beneath the stripper plate for heating thetape pressed against the upper side of the plate, means for latching thecover plate in operative position, a stationary guide plate disposedadjacent to and rearwardly of the feed roller and providing a rearwardlyfacing concave portion against which the lower lamina is adapted to beheld and along-which the lower lamina is adapted to move upon rotationof the feed roller, and a pivotally mounted guide roller pivotal to aposition in engagement with the concave portion of the stationary guideplate to press the lower lamina against said concave portion. 0

' CARL G. THIENE.

RAY STANTON AVERY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,019,312 Flanigan Mar. 5, 19121,931,369 Arnold Oct. 17, 1933 2,209,217 Anderson July 23, 19402,276,297 Flood Mar. 17, 1942 2,331,019 Flood Oct. 5, 1943 2,341,368Flood Feb. 8, 1944 2,350,281 Krueg'er May 30, 1944 2,484,880 Flood Oct.18, 1949

